Bengaluru: With dissidence in the state BJP refusing to die down despite the stern warning issued by the party’s central leadership to the warring factions to mend fences, some party leaders are now beginning to worry about the impact it could have in the 2018 assembly poll.
Sources close to senior BJP leader Jagadish Shettar say he believes the ongoing tussle in the party could immensely harm its prospects in the coming elections unless the high command intervenes at the right time. “Party workers are fed up with the infighting among the senior leaders. If the situation continues, the ruling Congress will easily overcome any anti-incumbency there may be,” sources add.
But things seem unlikely to settle down soon as despite the Central leadership’s instructions to state unit chief B.S. Yeddyurappa and his long time rival K S Eshwarappa to work together, both factions seem unrelenting.
Although warned several times, Mr Eshwarappa has refused to give up his association with the Sangolli Rayanna Brigade (SRB) that is seen as a parallel power centre in the party. Sources close to the senior leader say he has no intention of stopping the SRB’s activities as it is an apolitical forum and has nothing to do with the BJP. “He has already instructed his supporters to convene the SRB office-bearers’ meeting and organise rallies and other events over the next two months,” they reveal.
While Mr. Yeddyurappa has urged the party’s Karnataka in-charge, Muralidhar Rao to stop Mr Eshwarappa from carrying on with the brigade’s activities, nothing seems to be working, say sources.
Concerned by the tough stances of both factions, the party national leadership is closely monitoring the developments in its Karnataka unit, according to a former minister and core committee member of the BJP. “The central leadership will definitely interfere if the two groups don’t stop fighting,” he said.
